The present invention relates to ceramic armor and the method of making it by encapsulation including use of a stiffening plate adjacent to the metal backing plate. Ceramic containing armor has been shown to be an effective means to protect against a wide variety of ballistic threats because of its combination of high hardness, strength and stiffness along with low bulk density and favorable pulverization characteristics upon impact.
However, ceramic material alone has been found to be ineffective against heavy ballistic threats such as Tungsten Carbide projectiles, and long rod heavy metal penetrators. Long rod projectiles can have a significant ratio of length to diameter, up to 40, and can travel at velocities up to or exceeding 1 mile per second. For the ceramic to effectively stop such threats, the ceramic material must be supported or encapsulated with another material such as metal or another composite capable of absorbing energy and providing stiffness support for the ceramic. Applicants have found that the use of a stiffening plate can also be advantageous.
However, merely mechanically assembling an armor consisting of ceramic material encapsulated by metal, and using a stiffening plate, without further processing, fails to optimize the ballistic performance of armor. As such, a need has developed for an encapsulated ceramic armor material that optimizes ballistic performance and may be manufactured in a repeatable, predictable way. It is with this thought in mind that the present invention was developed.